Commentary - Jeremiah 25:15-38

Bird's-eye view

In this staggering passage, the prophet Jeremiah is made into a cupbearer of the Almighty, tasked with serving the wine of God's wrath to every nation on earth. This is not a picture of a distant, detached deity. This is the personal, judicial, and holy anger of the living God against the high-handed sin of mankind. The vision is comprehensive and terrifying. The cup is forced upon every mouth, from Jerusalem to the farthest coastlands, and the result is madness, destruction, and utter desolation. Judgment begins, as it must, with the house of God, but it does not end there. It sweeps across the entire globe in a great storm of divine fury.

But for the Christian, the central image of this passage, the cup of the wine of wrath, should immediately drive us to a garden outside this same Jerusalem. There, another cup was presented, and the Son of God, sweating blood, prayed that it might pass. But it did not pass. He drank it. He drank it down to the dregs so that all who are found in Him might be spared. This passage in Jeremiah shows us the cup we deserved, so that we might more fully appreciate the cup He drank.

Outline

The Cup of Divine Wrath

15 For thus Yahweh, the God of Israel, says to me, “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. 16 They will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, hands His prophet a cup. This is not the cup of blessing, but rather the cup of the wine of His wrath. The imagery is potent. Wrath is not an abstract concept here; it is something that can be contained, poured out, and consumed. It is wine, which means it is fermented, powerful, and intoxicating. God's judgment is not a mild rebuke; it drives men mad. They drink, they stagger, they lose their minds. This is what sin does, and God's judgment simply brings the insanity of sin out into the open. The instrument of this madness is the sword, but notice that it is the sword that God Himself sends among them. God is sovereign over the means, the instrument, and the effect of His judgments.

Judgment Begins at Home

17 Then I took the cup from the hand of Yahweh and made all the nations to whom Yahweh sent me drink it: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and its kings and its princes, to make them a waste place, an object of horror, an object of hissing, and a curse, as it is this day;

Jeremiah obeys. He takes the cup and begins his grim task. And where does he begin? He begins at home. Jerusalem and the cities of Judah are the first to drink. This is a fixed principle in the divine economy. Judgment begins at the household of God (1 Pet. 4:17). The people who have received the greatest light are held to the greatest accountability. Before God judges the pagan nations for their idolatry and wickedness, He first cleanses His own house. The result for Judah is utter desolation, a horror, a hissing, and a curse. The phrase "as it is this day" indicates that as Jeremiah is prophesying, the fulfillment is already underway. God's covenant people are not exempt from His temporal judgments when they live in rebellion.

A Tour of the Nations

19-26 Pharaoh king of Egypt... all the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the ground, and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

What follows is a terrifying roll call of the nations of the ancient world. From the great power of Egypt to the Philistines, from Edom and Moab to Tyre and Sidon, from the tribes of the Arabian desert to the kings of the north. This is not a haphazard list; it is a comprehensive declaration of God's global sovereignty. He is not a local deity. He is the judge of all the earth, and every king and every nation is accountable to Him. The list culminates with "all the kingdoms of the earth," leaving no one out. And then, a final, cryptic name: the king of Sheshach. Sheshach is an Atbash cipher for Babel, or Babylon. The very empire that God is using as His sword will itself be forced to drink the cup of wrath. The instruments of God's judgment are themselves accountable to His justice.

You Shall Surely Drink

27-29 “You shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall, and rise no more because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’ 28 And it will be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you will say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “You shall surely drink! 29 For behold, I am beginning to bring evil against this city which is called by My name. But shall you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment, for I am calling for a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares Yahweh of hosts.’

God anticipates the refusal of the nations. They will not want to drink this cup. But this is not an invitation; it is a divine decree. The language is blunt and brutal: drink, get drunk, vomit, fall, and never get up again. When they refuse, Jeremiah is to tell them that refusal is not an option. "You shall surely drink!" The logic is irrefutable. If God is beginning His judgment with Jerusalem, the city that bears His own name, what makes the pagan nations think they will get a pass? If the green tree is put to the fire, what will happen to the dry? (Luke 23:31). God's impartiality in judgment is a terrifying thing. He is calling for a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth.

The Roar from on High

30-33 ‘Yahweh will roar from on high... He is entering into judgment with all flesh; As for the wicked, He has given them to the sword,’ declares Yahweh.”... “Those slain by Yahweh on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be lamented, gathered, or buried; they will be like dung on the face of the ground.

The imagery now shifts from the cup to the sound of judgment. God roars like a lion from His holy habitation. He bellows a shout like those who tread grapes in the winepress. This is not the sound of reluctance. This is the triumphant roar of a king executing justice. His case is against the nations, and He is entering into judgment with all flesh. The wicked are given to the sword. A great storm of evil will sweep from nation to nation. The result is a global slaughter. The text is explicit: these are "those slain by Yahweh." And the final indignity, the ultimate sign of curse and contempt, is that their bodies will not be lamented or buried. They will lie scattered across the face of the earth like so much dung.

No Refuge for the Shepherds

34-38 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out... For Yahweh is destroying their pasture... He has forsaken His hiding place like the lion; For their land has become an object of horror... because of His burning anger.”

The prophecy concludes with a specific word for the leaders, the "shepherds" and "masters of the flock." The kings, princes, and false prophets have a special accountability. They are to wail and roll in the dust because their time is up. They will be slaughtered and scattered, shattered like a fine piece of pottery. There will be no refuge, no escape for them. Yahweh is destroying their pasture, the source of their power and prosperity. The final verse is chilling. God, like a lion, has left His den to hunt. The reason for the land's desolation is not political upheaval or military misfortune. The reason is stated twice for emphasis: it is because of the burning anger of the oppressor, the burning anger of Yahweh. There is no escaping the conclusion. God Himself is the one bringing this about.

Application

This is a hard chapter. It is meant to be. It reveals a God who is holy, just, and sovereign over the affairs of men and nations. It reminds us that sin is not a small thing, and God's wrath against it is not a metaphor. All nations, including our own, stand accountable before Him and will one day be made to drink the cup of their rebellion.

But for the Christian, this is not where the story ends. The terror of this passage should drive us to the foot of the cross. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ was presented with this very cup, containing the distilled wrath of God for the sins of His people. He prayed, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). He drank it. On the cross, He staggered under its weight. He was crushed by it. He cried out in dereliction. He drank the cup of madness and death that we deserved, and He drank it to the very bottom.

Because He drank that cup, He now offers us a different one. He offers the cup of salvation, the cup of the new covenant in His blood. For those who are in Christ, there is now no condemnation, no cup of wrath remains. We have been saved from the wrath to come. This passage in Jeremiah, therefore, serves as a dark backdrop that makes the light of the gospel shine all the brighter. Let us tremble before this holy God, and then let us run to the only refuge from the storm: the finished work of Jesus Christ.